So, how many of you did something this summer because you thought it would look good on your college applications? Unanimous show of hands? I thought so.
In applying for colleges, students are often told by parents and counselors to do what they feel is right. However, this advice is much easier sai...

As summer rolls around, an influx of well-meaning teenagers takes off to whatever Third World country is in vogue this year to volunteer. The students usually stay for two or three weeks, and often work in schools or with animals. This combination of traveling and volunteering, dubbed “voluntourism,” is o...

It is a universally-recognized truth that seniors will not work as hard in their spring term. The School, however, does not want seniors to lose their drive in their final days on campus. In order to combat this nonchalance, the school adjusts the demerit policy so that senior privileges can be lost b...

Phillips Academy Andover and Phillips Exeter Academy, two boarding schools similar to Groton, plan to introduce all-gender dorms in the next school year. Each of these dorms will house around twenty students, all in singles. These dorms are meant to make students who are transgender or identify as non-...

As the spring term approaches its end, fifth formers face a major obstacle between them and summer break: APs. These dreaded “advanced placement” courses are the bane of any fifth former’s existence and come as the conclusion of a long year of studies in one course. While the popularity of these terr...

Here at Groton we pride ourselves on two things: our diversity, and our inclusivity. We care about those two things so much that at least twice a year we have a day devoted entirely to them. And yet, you only have to look as far as our athletic center to find exclusion.
When you walk into the weight room, ...

Given the high rates of depression and anxiety suffered by high-school students--especially at a place as demanding as Groton--it is little surprise that the counseling office is a frequent topic of conversation here. And, more often than not, that discussion turns critical. Many of us have had some...

Spring sports are, without a doubt, one of the highlights of Groton’s favorite term. On a warm day in April or May, students can amble between the baseball diamond, tennis courts, and lacrosse fields or walk down to the boathouse to watch the crew team racing on the Nashua River. In recent years, howeve...

With another exciting Super Bowl in the books and a growing fan base for the event overseas, it would seem that the National Football League has nowhere to go but up. In fact, according to the latest estimates by Forbes Magazine, the organization is set to make upwards of thirteen billion dollars thi...

While much of recent political news has been speculation about the effects that a Donald Trump presidency will have on the Republican Party, perhaps just as important is the current battle being waged among Congressional Democrats. Although House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi recently defeated her co...

You come back home for Thanksgiving break filled with relief: exams are over. The next time you’ll have to do work is the beginning of winter term. Slowly, the feeling of relief drains from your body and is replaced by a sinking sense of dread as you realize that Winter Term is coming.
Why i...

A. Wei
Over the past two years there has a been a drastic increase in the number of clubs at Groton. I’m not entirely sure what is to blame for this recent explosion in the number of clubs, but my personal theory is that it is at least in part due to the institution of Fall Jam at the beginning of th...

It’s 10:30 at night after a long, busy Monday, and after check-in all you want to do is brush your teeth and crawl into bed. But you have an English essay due tomorrow—and you haven’t even started it.
I don’t care how brilliant or organized a student you are. One day—perhaps in the middle...

At Groton there are three different types of students: Students who are extremely democratic/liberal, students who are highly republican/conservative, and students who still think Bernie is a candidate. I have no problem with being political—in fact, I think it’s very important for us, as adolescents,...

This summer I went to The Gambia, an extremely small African country surrounded almost completely by Senegal, for two months at an medical research council camp where my godmother worked as a malaria research scientist. While I did have an amazing time, the food was frequently an issue.
Though the local...

At the beginning of July this past summer, while most Groton students were busy with summer fun and pushing off summer reading until August, a sizeable group of rising Fourth Formers returned to the campus to participate in the first summer of the GRACE program. Devised largely by the program director...

Since its inception in April of 2014, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver has attracted remarkably large numbers of viewers—among them many Groton students—with its comedic commentaries on a variety of issues in America, ranging from the "NSA’s detailed programs" to "putting a cowboy hat on a c...

The dress code at Groton has always been a controversial topic. Many feel that there is an unfair disparity between what girls are allowed to wear and what boys are allowed to wear. But there is a reason behind that difference. Boys’ clothing is usually not form-fitting, and have far simpler styles than ...

Judging by how much we all make fun of Langa Chinyoka’s '17 mason jars (out of which she dares to eat brownies), I would have expected her to give it up at some point, but there she goes, either scooping our newest baked feed into her clear blue mason jar or drinking water out of the jar with a straw....

Dear Third Form Hanna,
Hello, little insignificant Third Form Hanna. I hate to break it to you, but you are going to look back on yourself a couple of years from now and shudder in embarrassment. Everything you do now is going to seem awkward, embarrassing, and ridiculous, but it’s okay, because...

A few months ago, I saw the trailer for a movie called Concussion. It is about the NFL scandal (circa 2007) over the effects of frequent and forceful blows to the head. Will Smith portrays Dr. Bennet Omalu, a Nigerian forensic pathologist whose research caused the scandal. I doubt I will ever forget...

Please feel free to peel your smile from your mouth and rub the sleep back into your eyes for a little while. You don’t need to cry into your pillow every night or listen to “Marvin’s Room” alone in your room while your roommate is at late practice. And you don’t have to answer my “how are...

“All accumulation, therefore, of personal property, beyond what a man’s own hands produce, is derived to him by living in society; and he owes on every principle of justice, of gratitude, and of civilization, a part of that accumulation back again to society from whence the whole came.”
- Thomas P...

I think kindness is one of the best qualities to find in someone. I don’t mean the selfish and hollow kind of kindness, nor the type of kindness that is only displayed to certain people, but the kindness that is like a tiny campfire being lit or the kindness that makes you smile even days later.
A...